


Across the Years

by moonsamurai



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Angst, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Gen, M/M, One Shot Collection, i guess, requests open!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:27:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25632793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonsamurai/pseuds/moonsamurai
Summary: A bunch of one-shots and drabbles for ygo gx!Requests are open!
Comments: 53
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so I used a random word generator for ideas and then decided to do this lol

**Photograph**

\---

Saying Judai didn’t like taking pictures was an understatement.

It wasn’t that he hated it, he could tolerate basically anything at this point, but just… taking artificial pictures was iffy for him. How to explain…

Perhaps it was the forced smiling he had to do?

There. Smiling genuinely was so much harder these days, and Judai honestly felt that it was understandable. Not many people survived what happened to him in the Dark World and _smiled_ through it. Grinning at a camera just felt… unnatural for him, now. He had some trouble before, even though he managed, but now? It was different. 

It was _weird._

But as he and his friends flipped through a small album of Rei’s pictures of them messing around an hour ago, it was as if he was a natural in the photos. 

Smiles were on everyone’s faces as he clicked to the last one in the album. This picture was different from all of the other ones. The other ones had memories, snapshots framing incidents that would get forgotten eventually without it. Pictures of moments that would eventually be lost.

This one was a picture of him. He was in his usual red jacket, his hair messed up after Johan wouldn’t stop ruffling it. His stance was familiar-- straight and confident, with two fingers pointed at the camera. His mouth was open, like he was saying _“gotcha!”_ to the photographer, Rei. 

It was simple, really. Just a picture of him smiling genuinely for once.

Judai stared at the photo in disbelief, maybe awe. That was _him._ That was him in the shot.

“Like it?” Asuka asked quietly from his left. He could feel her smile. “Rei thought it was a nice, final addition.”

There wasn’t much to say. “...Yes,” Judai decided with a nod, studying the picture. “I like it.”

He scanned every detail of the smiling face that was so similar to his, yet so different.

Judai committed the picture to memory, shutting off the album with a click.

* * *

**Opponent**

\---

Manjoume watches his opponent from across the duel field. 

The Obelisk Blue student has a confident smirk on his face, like he’s sure the face down he set would protect him. As if.

He could snort at the thought.

“I end my turn!”

Finally.

Tugging at his black coat lightly, he draws a card and smirks. He can feel the arrogance from the Obelisk from here.

His _opponent_ isn’t worthy of his strategies.

Pulling a card from his hand to begin his countdown to victory, he glances up at the stands for a fraction of a second. He spots the Osiris student at the stands, his fist pumped and shouting encouragements at him from there. 

Yuki Judai. The name leaves a bad taste in his mouth, which is natural at this point. But as much as Manjoume dislikes him, Judai is his true opponent. His _rival,_ someone he had to rise up to defeat. 

The turn blows by quickly as he brings out Armed Dragon LV7 and crushing this opponent. The set card had been a bluff. Manjoume tries not to scowl any further.

As the Obelisk Blue student is blown back, Manjoume scoffs and heads off the arena. He shakes off the praises from Judai (and grudgingly, Sho) and leaves the room. He had been disappointed, although it’s only natural at this point.

Judai is the only one Manjoume can _truly_ consider as an opponent, a _rival._

He frowns angrily, batting away Ojama Yellow. He’d have to face Judai again on the battlefield, and he’d prove _he_ was the rival Judai had to beat.

* * *

**Fault**

\---

_Your fault._

His fault.

Judai stamped down the thought as angrily as he could. He wasn’t angry at all. He just felt hollow.

Yubel was alive. Yubel was like that because of him. Yubel did this because of _him._

“My fault,” he mumbled, curling in on himself until he was a tight ball, blocking out the world around him. 

Winged Kuriboh floated down to him, cooing sadly and trying to comfort the boy. He ignored it, clenching his fist. His nails dug into his palm, drawing blood. He didn’t care. 

It wouldn’t bring Johan back. 

“My fault,” he repeated, disgust placed somewhere in it. He wasn’t sure if it was at himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He turned over, burying his face into the pillow. He punched it half-heartedly.

“It was my fault… it’s my fault Yubel did this and took Johan,” he said slowly, angrily, although the anger was too soft. “He’s gone because of me.”

_“Kuri, kuri!!”_

At its words, Judai bolted up, nearly slamming his head on to the bunk above him. “What?!”

Winged Kuriboh chirped again, trying its best to point in a certain direction. _“Kuriii!!”_

“There is?”

At the nod, Judai swung his legs out of bed, reaching for the red bag he had purchased a year ago. He filled it quickly, dumping an extra set of clothes, a couple of containers of food he left around, any other necessities that could be salvaged from his own room, and stood up. 

“Let’s go,” he muttered, opening the window and climbing out of it. As he followed Winged Kuriboh in the direction of the dimensional rift that could perhaps get him to Johan, he could only think--

_My fault._

_I did this._

_It was my fault, so I’m going to bring him back._

_Wait for me, Johan._

* * *

**Corruption**

\---

It’s spreading. The Society of Light is spreading at a rapid pace, faster than Judai truly can comprehend.

Asuka and Manjoume have already been caught. He grits his teeth at the reminder and turns over, staring at the wall.

“Aniki…” Sho mumbles sleepily, shifting over the second bunk. Judai rolls over, watching as Sho’s head pops down to check on him. “You good?”

Judai smiles weakly, nodding. “I’m fine, go back to sleep.”

“You sure?”

“You’re going to fall,” the taller boy responds, chuckling softly under his breath as Sho’s face leaves his view. “Good night, Sho.”

“Night, aniki…”

As Sho’s breaths get deeper and more even, Judai bites his lip, still wide awake. 

What would happen to Sho and his other friends if they-- he failed?

He clenches his jaw. _Not gonna happen_.

Because he wasn’t going to fail. He was going to protect them with everything he had. He was going to destroy the Society of Light with his own two hands, even if it meant he died. 

Absently, he wonders if this entire situation was corrupting _him._

He ignores the thought and tries to fall asleep once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a bunch of interesting requests, and literally all of them were pairings hfdslkaj
> 
> and warning, some characters might be OOC, and I apologize in advance ;;
> 
> still, that being said, I had a lot of fun with these! I hope you all like em ^v^

**Confession**

**\---**

"You know, I don't see why you can't tell him."

"It's just- I don't know how to tell him!"

Sho and Asuka sat next to the lighthouse on a dock, watching the sunset. While Asuka would usually talk with Ryo about things, he was a bit busy today, and Sho had come by.

And that had led to Asuka finding about Sho's stupid crush on Judai.

"I don't know what to do," Sho sighed, resting his face on the palms of his hands. "Like, he's oblivious to a lot of things, so I don't know how he'd take it if I did. Not to mention I'm a wimp…"

He buried his face in his hands and groaned. "Why can't this be easy?"

"It's never easy," Asuka said, patting Sho's shoulder. "But you know, you might as well tell Judai how you feel. It's better if he knows than-"

"Tell me how I know what?"

Sho yelped and snapped around, already knowing who's voice that was. "A-a-aniki?!" he stammered out, seeing Judai walking up towards them.

"Yo," Judai said, smiling brightly in the way that made Sho's heart skip a beat or two. Asuka smiled back, standing up and brushing herself off.

"I'm feeling a little tired now, so I'm going to head back to my dorm," she said calmly, glancing down at Sho. Her message was clear: 

_Good luck._

Sho was extremely tempted to follow suit and head back to the dorm, where Hayato would be, but that would be running away from this. He clenched his fists.

_I can do this!_

"See you later, Asuka!" Judai said, waving as she retreated farther away. Then, he spun around and walked over towards Sho, sitting down next to his friend.

There was silence between them for a few moments. Sho did his best to fight back the blush threatening to form on his face from sitting next to Judai alone, although it was a lost cause.

"Sho, you okay?"

"A-aniki, there's… actually, uhm, something I need to tell you."

Judai tilted his head, and Sho could feel his face burning up. Why does he need to be so frickin' cute?!

"What's up?"

"Uh, well, uhm… you see," Sho stuttered, trying to work up the courage to get it out. "Ireallylikeyouwillyoupleasegooutwithme?!"

For a moment, time paused. Judai held Sho's gaze, confusion evident in his eyes. The bluenette really wanted to break away and jump into the ocean, but there was something keeping him rooted here. Perhaps it was embarrassment? It wouldn't be out of place-

"Sho, you _are_ out with me," Judai said, raising an eyebrow. Sho groaned, shoving away the question of how Judai actually managed to understand all of that. He should've known.

"I meant romantically- shoot, did I say that?!"

Understanding washed over Judai's face. "Like a couple," he said, snapping his fingers.

Sho bit his lip. He wasn't really sure what to take from that reaction, but he was sure he was going to get rejected. There was no way he wasn't, he shouldn't have said it, and maybe they could still be friends? He doubted it-

His thoughts were stopped by the feeling of a pair of lips on his.

"I think that's what couples do, right? Oh, and I like you too," Judai said cheerfully as he broke away, leaning forward with a huge smile. "I was hoping I could tell you, but you got that part figured out for me."

_...He likes me?_

"So… is that a yes?" Sho asked stupidly, his brain short circuiting. A laugh broke out of Judai's mouth, and the smaller boy's heart stopped.

"Well, yeah! Sounds fun!"

And when Judai's lips touched his once more, Sho wished they could stay like that forever.

* * *

**Present**

**\---**

"You really don't mind if I stay here tonight?"

"Of course," Asuka said with a small smile. "It's not like we're going to get called out for staying in the same room."

"That's if we get caught," Edo said with a shrug, earning a laugh from Asuka. She motioned towards the sofa around the TV.

"Get yourself comfortable," she said, heading over to a side room. "I'm going to change."

"Alright," Edo answered, moving over to the couch and sitting down, placing down a box with a small present inside on the coffee table. He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back.

"I'm surprised you haven't turned on the TV yet," Asuka said from behind him. He nearly jumped- how was she so quiet?- but managed to keep himself calm enough. Edo turned his head slightly to glance at her out of the corner of his eye.

He bit down on his tongue to keep his jaw from dropping.

She circled around the couch, wearing a simple, pale blue nightgown. Her hair and eyes shone in the moonlight, giving her almost an ethereal glow as she sat down next to him.

"What, cat got your tongue?" she laughed, shoving him lightly.

Composing himself, Edo shook his head, smiling charmingly. "No, not at all. I just had my breath stolen by a lady such as yourself," he answered, poking back.

"Aren't you a charmer."

"It's what I do best."

"I think that goes to dueling," Asuka chuckled, pecking him on the cheek. "So what did you smuggle in here?"

Edo let his smile widen a little, gesturing to the box. "It's for me to know and for you to find out."

Asuka giggled, reaching over to the box. She opened the top and her eyes positively sparkled when she caught a glimpse of what was inside.

"A card holder?" she wondered, pulling out a necklace with a card holder dangling from it. It was shut.

"Open it."

At his words, Asuka nodded, yanking it open. She gasped, scanning the picture of them on their first date.

"You still have that picture?" she asked, already moving to clasp it around her neck.

"Of course I do," he responded, his hands moving over to hers. "Let me."

He hooked the clasp shut at the back of her neck, leaving the card holder to hang around her chest. She gave him a smile that knocked his breath away, like the first time he watched her duel.

"Now we match," he remarked. Asuka laughed, nodding in agreement.

"Thanks, Edo," she said softly, leaning on to his shoulder. "I'll cherish this forever."

She shut her eyes, leaving him to only watch as she dozed off. He flicked his eyes down at the still-open card holder and sighed, smiling softly.

"I will too," he answered quietly, shutting his eyes. Soon, he slipped off into his own dreams.

He didn't see the growing smile on Asuka's face.

* * *

**Tickle**

**\---**

" _Finally_ , you checked out a hotel," Yubel sighed as Judai flopped on to one of the beds in the room. "You should do that more often."

"The wilderness is fun," he responded, grabbing a pillow and burying his face into it. "I forgot how this feels…"

Yubel watched in mild amusement as Judai curled up into a ball and rolled on to the center of the bed, mumbling words they couldn't hear.

Quite frankly, he was cute.

"Yubel, get over here," Judai called out, his voice muffled by the pillow. "It's comfy."

Chuckling, they materialized partially into the real world. They plopped down unceremoniously on the bed, bouncing Judai upwards and getting a surprised laugh out of him.

"You should go to sleep."

"I'm getting to that," Judai answered cheerfully, throwing the pillow at Yubel's head. The thing smacked their face and fell down into their hands. "It's soft, isn't it?"

"Did you just throw a pillow at my head?"

"...I'm going to sleep, night Yubel."

Yubel smirked, grabbing Judai's arm. "You're not getting off the hook that easily."

"Oh come on, it was a j-"

He cut himself off with a scream as Yubel tackled him the best they could, tickling him viciously with no chance of freedom. Judai twisted and kicked at them, although that just made them more determined to make him suffer.

After a few minutes of this, Judai finally shoved Yubel off of him, laughing breathlessly. Grinning in triumph, he sat up, but was immediately pulled back down.

"You said something about going to bed now?" Yubel said, amusement shining through their features. Judai grumbled something unintelligible, but sighed in defeat.

"Fiiiine."

Still smiling, Judai shifted around to curl into Yubel's arms. They wrapped their arms around him and let themself dissipate back into the spirit realm.

"Night. I love you…" Judai muttered, his eyes falling shut.

The spirit smiled in response. "I love you too, Judai," they said, disappearing completely.

* * *

**Mile**

**\---**

"What," Judai panted between breaths, "does. Running. The. Mile. Have. To. Do. With. Duel Monsters?!"

"Because we have to... exercise and... keep up shape," Sho answered, inhaling through his mouth. "This sucks!"

The two of them ran alongside the other students around the track.

"It sucks, but you'll be thankful for it when you have to run around the academy," Misawa said from next to them, taking careful, measured breaths. Sho and Judai almost gaped at him.

"How the heck are you-"

"Practice, and a lot of calculations."

"Of course it's that."

A few minutes later (correction: an eternity later), they finally rounded the last corner and sprinted to the end, where Sho and Judai promptly collapsed.

"You two should get up, there's more people coming our way," Misawa huffed out, offering both of them his hands, which they took gratefully. "Come on, let's go get some water."

There was a beat of silence, and-

"You two need to actually _walk."_

"But I can't feel my legs!" Sho complained, finally regaining control of his breathing.

"I'll give you both fried shrimp at the Ra dorm later."

Judai perked up immediately, to Misawa's amusement, and dashed in front of the two. "What are you waiting for?!" he exclaimed. "Let's go!"

"Aniki-"

"If you really can't walk, then I'll carry you," the taller boy decided, grabbing Sho's arm despite his protests. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! _Fried shrimp,_ Sho!"

It wasn't like Sho had a choice in the matter, considering that Judai had already half-carry and half-dragged him away faster than he'd run during the mile. Misawa stared after them, shaking his head in amusement as he followed them.

"Ah, youth," he joked. (That was met with a few confused glances, but he chose to ignore them in favor of catching up to his friends.)

(Besides, he wasn't _wrong._ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the last one was supposed to be a joke lol
> 
> anyways, hope you enjoyed! ^v^ (and I hope I did all of your pairings justice fhkldjal)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall have been asking for nothing but pairings lmaooo  
> so yeah here's some more
> 
> they might be OOC, but eh oh well, I had enough trouble on this xD

**Portrait**

**_Promise_ **

\---

“Finished!”

“Aww, already?” 

Sho sat in his dorm with Dark Magician Girl. To any onlooker, perhaps they’d be surprised, or confused as to why there was a girl in full cosplay hanging out with the short Obelisk. 

Maybe they’d even be shocked if they realized that the ‘girl in full cosplay’ was  _ literally _ the Dark Magician Girl.

Or, as she introduced herself, Mana. 

Apparently, one of the quirks of being best friends with Judai was that he could make duel spirits come to life, and after a lot of begging on both spirit and human ends, he’d agreed to summon Dark Magician Girl for a day. As long as Sho treated him to friend shrimp, which of  _ course _ he accepted.

So, a couple days later, Judai got his hands on a Dark Magician Girl card, he summoned her and let them have their fun.

They spent the day messing around in Sho’s room, flying above the forest on her broom (he was light enough to carry), and testing out little spells that she had learned. She had apparently gotten pretty powerful.

Eventually, the sun was setting, and Mana had to leave soon. So as a little parting away gift, the two of them decided to try and draw each other.

Sho held up his piece of paper to Mana, who giggled at the picture. She wiped off paint off of her face and leaned in closer, examining it in detail.

“Accurate,” she laughed out, earning a pout from Sho. “I like it!!”

“I tried my best; now show me yours!!”

Mana grinned and flipped over her picture. Sho gaped at the full color  _ portrait _ that she held up. “Like it?” she asked excitedly, waving the paintbrushes off. 

“That looks exactly like me,” he said, trying to shut his mouth but failing miserably. “Compared to you, I don’t--”

“You’re not the one with magic, silly!” Mana laughed, pulling the picture away. She took a quick glance around and stared at the clock. “Aww, I have to go soon. We should clean up.”

With a snap of her fingers, the paintbrushes, pencils, and splatters scattered around the room floated up and spun back to their original places, leaving no trace behind. (Sho and Mana were still dirty, but it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a shower.) 

“Aaaand that’s over with. As for the paintings…”

A smile appeared on her face as she waved her hands around. The picture of Sho floated up and enlarged a bit, and a frame popped into existence around it. With a grunt, she launched it towards the wall, where it stuck and hung. 

“Something to think of me, y’know?” Mana chuckled with a wink. “And as for yours…”

“I-I actually have something,” Sho said timidly. He stood up and moved over to his deck and pulled one of the drawers out, rummaging through it quickly. With a noise of success, he took out a heart-shaped locket. “My mom gave this to me when I was a kid, and I never got rid of it.”

“Like a keepsake, right? So why’re you giving it to me?”

“Well I can’t keep it forever! And… I want you to put my drawing in there. A keepsake,” he quoted. Mana ‘awwed,’ grabbing Sho’s picture. 

“Of course, silly.” Another  _ snap, _ and the drawing folded itself into a heart with her face on the surface. She closed it with a click and clasped it around her neck. “Do I look good?”

“Is that even a question?”

Laughing, Mana tackled Sho into a hug, earning a yelp as the Obelisk Blue slammed his elbow on to the desk. He still burst out in laughter though, hugging back tightly.

“I’m going to miss you,” he muttered, pushing her away from him. She frowned and sighed. 

“I know, I’m going to miss you too. But as long as I’ve got my locket, I’ll never forget you,” she promised, holding her pinky out. “Promise you won’t forget me?”

Sho locked his pinky with hers.

* * *

**(Sugar) Crash**

\---

“This was such a bad idea,” Ryo muttered.

Fubuki mumbled something as Ryo and Yusuke dragged him back to the Obelisk Blue dorms. Ryo couldn’t quite get it, but Yusuke was chuckling, so it was probably something stupid.

“It was funny while it lasted.”

“You and I have a different definition of funny.”

“You never laugh.”

_ Touche. _

Yusuke seemed to understand that he won that round, since he just smirked victoriously and kicked the door to Fubuki’s room open. With a grunt, the two of them hauled Fubuki on to his bed. 

“Why and how the hell is he so  _ heavy?” _ Ryo groused, stepping back and falling on to a chair. 

“Must be all the chocolate he eats,” Yusuke joked, moving over to the back of the chair and snaking his arms over Ryo’s shoulders. “Do you  _ see _ all the chocolate he gets?”

Ryo just shrugged, flicking Yusuke’s arm. “And he eats all of it too.”

Chuckling, Yusuke buried his face in Ryo’s hair, muttering something quietly. 

“What’s that?”

“You’re funny,” Yusuke repeated, leaning over the chair and grinning into Ryo’s face. It was that moment Ryo remembered why he loved this idiot.

Shaking his head, Ryo leaned away and batted his boyfriend’s face away. 

“Ah-ah-ah,” Yusuke said, pushing Ryo’s hand down and planting a kiss on his cheek. “You can’t escape!”

A spark of competition flared up in Ryo, and he leaned into Yusuke to--

“Get a room,” Fubuki groaned from his bed. The two snapped out of it, glancing at over at Fubuki, who had shifted over to glare at the two. “You’re not allowed to have sex in he--”

“We weren’t going to,” Yusuke snapped, his face burning red. Ryo felt heat rising to his own cheeks, but shook it off. 

“I’m sure Fubuki can take care of himself now,” Ryo decided, getting up from the chair and grasping Yusuke’s hand. “Feel better soon.”

“Waiiit, Ryo!! You can’t leave me here on my own!!”

Ignoring Fubuki, Ryo dragged Yusuke towards the door. The latter shot a sympathetic glance at the other Obelisk Blue student as he left the room.

With a bang, Ryo slammed the door and exhaled.

“We shouldn’t have given him sugar.”

“Definitely.”

* * *

**Silence**

\---

Perhaps it was a bad idea to ask Judai to bring out Yubel.

Johan glances towards his room-- Judai’s in there, playing with his spirits until they’re done.

But for now, it’s just him and them, sitting in the living room. They’re watching each other carefully, waiting for the first sentence. It doesn’t come.

There’s not much to say, anyway. It's hard for Johan to talk about anything, really. (What could he do when sitting in front of the spirit who possessed him and put him through enough in that other world? 

Not much, unfortunately.)

He’s lucky he had the foresight to give Judai his deck to take into his room, he thinks absently, otherwise there might be a shouting match in here.

Yubel crosses their arms and clears their throat, but doesn’t say anything. Their mouth opens a little, but they shut it quickly, deciding against it. 

“...Yubel,” he says finally, quietly, breaking the deafening silence. His voice is a little hoarse, but he moves to continue, just as he realizes he doesn’t know what to say.

“Johan,” Yubel answers, leaning back a little and phasing partially through the couch by mistake. They wince but moves on, “I should say I’m sorry.”

“You’re not.”

“I know.”

They fall into another silence after that, and Johan’s seriously starting to get sick of this silence. He’d rather be loud, engage in some kind of shouting match, anything to hear something. 

Instead, he’s met with frigid  _ quiet. _ He doesn’t like it.

Now he understands what Judai meant by it being too quiet. He grimaces.

“I’m not sorry for reuniting with Judai,” Yubel goes on, however, “but I apologize for using you to do it.”

Johan nods numbly, sinking into the couch pillows. “I’m sorry for what you had to go through,” he says, wishing it was louder. “But you…” He swallows. “Never mind, it’s nothing.”

It’s silent for a moment before the spirit gets up and floats towards him. He sucks in a sharp breath as Yubel’s transparent hand ghosts over his shoulder. He doesn’t flinch, as much as he’d like to. He looks up and stares into the heterochromatic eyes of Yubel defiantly. 

It’s too quiet. 

“...Johan Andersen,” they say, “hurt Judai and you die.”

“Same goes to you.”

They scoff, but the atmosphere’s lighter, somehow. “As if I would.”

Johan rolls his eyes, knowing it’s the truth. “You can go get Judai now.”

“I was planning to, even if I can’t stand your presence.”

And then Yubel’s gone, leaving Johan to wonder if that spark was just a dream.

* * *

**Double ~~Trouble~~**

\---

“Why and how did you convince me to do this?” Ryo asks in a deadpan as Junko pushes his wheelchair across the island.

“It sounded fun, and I don’t really know,” Junko shoots back cheerfully, smiling brightly. “C’mon, it’s a double date with Fubuki and Momoe, for Pete’s sake! Doesn’t it sound romantic?”

“No, not at all.”

Junko pouts, pushing his wheelchair a little faster. “You’re no fun when it comes to this.”

Ryo doesn’t bother answering and shuts his eyes. Maybe this is all just a dream. There’s no way he agreed to this,  _ especially _ with Fubuki.

But when they arrive on the beach with Fubuki and Momoe waiting for them, it hits him-- he indeed (accidentally) agreed to do this.

“Why,” he groans when Fubuki dashes up to him with a shit-eating grin. “What did you do.”

“I didn’t do anything, Ryo! I just thought you needed to see the sun and let loose, so I somehow convinced you to join!”

Even Fubuki doesn’t seem sure why he agreed, so he just smiles wryly at the charmer. “Thanks for thinking about me, I guess?” he says.

Fubuki shoots him a cheerful smile. “Ryo, can you stand up?” 

“I’ve been advised not to for now, although I’m pretty sure I can."

“...So you can?”

“Fubuki, no.”

“Fine.”

Momoe finally catches up after setting a few things down, a smile on her face. “Fubuki, let’s go swimming!!”

“Coming, Momoe-chan!!”

Laughing, he sprints into the water with Momoe, screaming as a cold tide hits them. Junko bursts into giggles as her best friend gets splashed while Ryo can only shake his head in amusement.

“We could do that one day, once you recover,” Junko says happily, like she’s not sad they can’t do it now. “But for now, here--”

She helps him out of his wheelchair. He wobbles on his feet a little (he considers this undignified and makes a note to fix this) but makes it to a blanket Momoe had spread out. They both sit down and stare into the sparkling waters.

“Sorry we can’t join them,” Ryo says uncomfortably, picking at the sand. “You can go join them, if you’d like.”

Junko frowns at him, dropping sand in his lap. He leans backward with a confused expression, earning a cheerful laugh. “I wouldn’t abandon you for swimming, Ryo.”

“It’s not abandoning, it’s having fun.”

“It’s fun whenever you’re around though,” she protests, flinging sand at his lap again. “Now shush before I bury you in this sand.”

“You can try.”

“You can barely walk, you really think you can run through sand?”

He has to admit, she has a point.

“Fine, fine.”

Being silent is easy, though, he thinks as he watches Fubuki and Momoe splash around in the water. They’re like that for a moment before Junko tugs at his arm with a smile.

“You know I wouldn’t trade this for the world, right?”

As Fubuki and Momoe finally seems to have had enough and comes running towards them holding mudballs, Ryo smiles.

“Of course.”

* * *

**Fall**

\---

"Judai, what the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like, Kaiser?" 

Ryo stared up the tree Judai was climbing. He had decided to skip Satou's lecture for _this._

"I have class."

"And you're skipping it, go figure!" Judai called down, hauling himself up another branch. Well, Judai wasn't wrong, and Ryo was actually kind of grateful that he had a reason to skip. Whether he liked attending class or not, it did _nothing_ to help Satou's classes, which were so boring even _he_ was falling asleep.

But when he skipped just so Judai could climb a tree, it put things into perspective.

"You should probably come down now, you're going to fall."

"No I'm not!!" 

"Judai--"

And of course Lady Luck heard them, because the moment Judai placed his hands on the next branch, his foot slipped. The Osiris Red managed to catch the branch, but as he tried to scramble upwards, a strong wind kicked in, blowing the tree to the side.

"Sh--"

His swear got cut off as he fell. 

Ryo nearly froze then and there. Judai began falling, towards the ground, he was _so_ high up, he _told_ him--

"Judai!"

In a flash, the Obelisk Blue caught the boy, shifting him automatically into bridal style. "What were you thinking?" Ryo asked, just barely managing to control his voice. "Are you okay?"

For a moment, the Osiris Red looked like he was in shock, but he shook himself out of it with a huge grin. He leapt out of the Kaiser's arms and nearly fell. "Woah, I didn't realize my legs would become jelly."

Ryo reached over to help steady him when he was blinded by Judai's grin. "That was awesome, though!" he cried, bounding into the air. "I should do that more!"

"If you want to give everyone around you a heart attack, go for it."

Judai just laughed. "You liked catching me."

Rolling his eyes, the Obelisk Blue ruffled Judai's hair and turned away. "I trust you won't fall again?"

"Probably not, but I'll make sure I won't. See you around, Kaiser!"

Ryo nodded, walking away. He stamped down the heat rising to his cheeks and continued to his dorm.

Judai wasn't wrong at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so I know yall probably know this already, but just as a reminder: ask for literally anything but smut, I will do my best to write it!   
> (AUs, scenarios, words, anything goes! Not just pairings, please lmaoo) 
> 
> anyways, hope yall enjoyed :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Festival**

\---  
“The festival’s here already?” Judai says, pressing his face on the window and staring outside, where civilians are preparing for a festival a couple days from now. “I can’t wait!! We should go together!”

“I wish we could, but I’m not supposed to go,” Sho reminds gently, staring into his cup of tea listlessly. A small frown is on his face. “You can go, though, right?”

“I could, if I wanted,” Judai answers, glancing back. “But do you really think I’m going to go without you?”

Sho huffs and shakes his head lightly. “You should. You’ve been looking forward to this for the entire month. Don’t skip out on fun because of me.”

“I thought you’d be more excited to get out of the palace,” Judai says, tugging at his sleeves and pushing himself away from the window. “You’ve been going stir crazy.”

“I’m not supposed to be. I’m a prince, remember?”

Judai shrugs, moving over to Sho’s bed (which is huge and way too comfortable) and jumping on to it, a laugh escaping from his mouth as he bounces up. “Just because you’re a prince doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get to have fun. ‘Sides, weren’t you the one who suggested going to the festival?”

“My brother said I shouldn’t go, as did Mother and Father,” Sho sighs out, taking a sip from his cooled tea. “Ryo doesn’t want me to get hurt since I’m… weak, and my parents think I’m not worthy yet to be seen by their side.”

Frowning, Judai slips off the bed and moves to Sho, ruffling his hair. “Well, screw them,” he intones casually. “They might be the King and Queen, but nothing’s stopping us from going.”

“Except their direct orders?” the prince says dryly.

“Not even that,” the knight answers with a grin.

With that sly grin of his, Sho realizes he should probably be more careful. But Judai’s plans somehow always work out, so he doesn’t comment further.

So when he wakes up in Judai’s room the next day, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

“What the--”

“Put these on!” Judai says cheerfully, tossing a shirt and pair of pants at the prince, followed by a small hat. 

“Wh-why?"

“We’re going to the festival, of course!” Humming cheerfully, Judai pulls a cloak over his head and motions for his friend to do the same. The prince nods carefully, tugging the clothes on and laying his robes to the side.

“What if we get caught?” Sho presses worriedly, yanking a pair of (surprisingly fitting) boots on. He jams the hat over his head, although a few light blue strands peek out. 

“That’s why we’re not going to get caught,” Judai answers with a grin. His eyes flicker green and yellow for a split second, just enough for Sho’s eyes to widen before they’re outside at the festival.

“...I forgot you could do that.”

Without replying, Judai grasps his hand and leads him through the streets, weaving in and out of the crowd expertly. It’s loud as people visit stands and shops, with them all laughing and talking. 

Sho, in fact, likes it. Quite a bit, actually. It’s different from the suffocating walls inside the palace.

Judai leads him from shop to shop, and it’s a ‘blast,’ if Sho had to describe it. He looks through all kinds of trinkets, jewelry, foods, and games, and he’s having way more fun than expected.

The King and Queen, along with the Kaiser-- Sho swallows at the sight-- appear at the balcony of the palace as the sun sets. His heart pounds in his ears as they commend everyone for the festivities. A light squeeze from Judai keeps him from bolting.

As the speech ends, Sho can _tell_ his brother is staring at him, but he pays it no mind. Instead, he lets himself get pulled away to a hill at the outskirts of the festival.

Judai pulls Sho into a hug, murmuring a few words that he can barely understand. It doesn’t matter, Sho decides. His knight’s presence is enough to calm him down.

As they pull away, Judai begins, “We should get back now.”

Sho nods mutely, grasping Judai’s hand and squeezing tightly. “I don’t want to.”

“I know.”

As they stand there, upon the lone hill, Sho finds himself wishing this could last forever.

* * *

**Sandwich**

\---

“We’re going to be late if you walk at this pace,” Asuka said firmly, stifling a chuckle as Kenzan tried to keep up with her. “Someone might’ve already drawn it.”

“I know, I know, but it’s not exactly easy to walk this fast after having a duel with aniki,” the Ra student groaned, rubbing his arms. “He’s way too good.”

“He’s strong,” Asuka shrugged, her smile growing wider. “That’s why it’ll be just as satisfying when I take him down.”

“When?”

The Obelisk girl didn’t reply. She didn’t need to-- Kenzan already knew she was considering that stupid word. _“When.”_

“Whatever, the cafeteria’s waiting!” Kenzan said, inhaling deeply and catching up. “Come on, slowpoke!”

“So _I’m_ the slowpoke here?”

The two walked to the cafeteria doors, where Asuka promptly flung the door open. She dragged Kenzan over to the bin of Eggwiches and rubbed her hands together.

“Come on, come on, come on…”

“I thought you said you didn’t like sandwiches?”

A light smack to the shoulder answered him. “Who said I was excited for the sandwiches? I just want to try drawing the Golden Eggwich,” Asuka said, reaching into the bin and digging around.

Sighing, Kenzan grabbed a random sandwich and unwrapped it. It looked like any other normal sandwich, but he wasn’t exactly fooled. He prayed it was something good and took a bite.

“Oh,” he mumbled as he chewed. The Golden Eggwich stared right back at him. “Asuka, I got it.”

“What?!”

He showed her the sparkling egg inside the bun and sweatdropped at the murderous aura his friend was giving off. “If you want, we could split it…?” he asked, slightly terrified.

Instantly, her smile returned, although it was slightly closed off. That was probably worse, actually. “Would you?” she asked cheerfully, her eyes sharp as ever. 

“Half and half, as long as you promise not to kill me,” Kenzan tried, raising his free hand in surrender.

“Deal.”

The Ra boy exhaled in relief, (somehow) ripping the sandwich in half and handing it to Asuka.

“You know, you’re really scary when you want to be,” he remarked, biting into his half. His companion turned to him with a snap, a smile on her face as she munched on her own half.

“What’s that?”

“N-nothing!”

* * *

**Study**

\---

Manjome was bored. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with being bored, it was just that when he was bored, shit happened.

And that’s exactly what happened. (Well, not exactly, but Manjome considered it ‘shit.’ So it was.

No one was questioning him, so it didn’t even matter.)

“Could we study with you?”

He really needed to figure out how the hell he got into this situation. He’d come to the library, sat down, tried to flip through his textbook to study for the next class’s test, and failed miserably. He could’ve possibly asked Misawa to come help, but the other boy was just so… boring, and would probably try and lecture Manjome the entire time.

And he had better things to do than get lectured on the difference between water and fire.

So he sat in the corner table, alone, resting his head on the wood. He was thankful he had the foresight to eat lunch before coming in. 

And then Junko and Momoe _had_ to come barging into his peace. 

“Please? History is going to kill us if you don’t let us,” Momoe pleaded, already sitting down and placing her bag on the floor.

Manjome was tempted to say no. Those two weren’t exactly avid students, preferring to talk about boys instead of studying. But it wasn’t like he had a reason to refuse.

“Sure,” he grumbled, straightening up and yanking his history textbook out of his bag. “You’re lucky I have history with you both.”

Junko brightened, taking a seat next to her best friend and pulling out her own textbook. “Thanks a lot, Manjome!”

“You could stand to be less cold, but you really are awesome,” Momoe said cheerfully, flipping to the designated study pages their teacher had assigned the day before. “So… I don’t understand any of this.”

“Did you study at all last night?” Manjome hissed, pulling out his notebook. With a sigh, he handed it over to the girls. “Careful not to rip the pages. I spent way too long on that.”

Squealing in their thanks, the girls yanked it from his hand and flipped through it, scanning his notes quickly. Manjome was pretty sure they weren’t going to be able to absorb all of that information, although a small part of him hoped they passed somehow.

Eventually, it went from them trying to read through everything to Manjome trying to explain his thought processes, which, while it didn’t go too well, it seemed to help a little bit. At least it was working a minimal amount.

By the end of lunch, all three of them were laughing quietly at the last thing Manjome was trying to explain. Even Manjome was laughing, to his surprise. It wasn’t like the girls were doing anything new…

“Here,” Junko said, handing Manjome his notebook back. “I think we’ll be fine!” 

“Thanks, Manjome! See you in class,” Momoe said, heading for the door. “Good luck!”

“Good luck,” he returned, tapping the notebook on the desk a couple times before placing it in his backpack. He slung it over his shoulder and walked towards his next class, sighing. 

_Hopefully it was enough._

And apparently, it was, as shown when Junko and Momoe literally tackled him the next day and showed him matching passes on their papers. He’d gotten a lot of glares from passing people, and while he wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment or jealousy, one thing was for sure--

“Ow, get off of me!”

“Thank you, Manjome!!”

“Okay, I get it, now get off!!”

* * *

**Apology**

\---

“Sho?”

Sho was having an alright day. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened, except the news his brother was doing well in recovery. But that was most days now, and Ryo would be on his feet faster than expected. 

That was good. But other than that… nothing. Judai had visited once to pass of a couple sandwiches, one of them containing the Golden Eggwich. How he had known that was beyond both Marufuji brothers, but Judai was Judai. They probably weren’t supposed to understand. He had said something to Ryo, most likely best wishes, before leaving.

Class was boring as always, but that was most of the time. The highlight had been when Kenzan accidentally shot a pencil at Instructor Chronos and interrupted his long lecture, which, while it had been funny, had done nothing to ease his boredom.

At least his day wasn’t _bad._

And now, as he sat next to his brother, he basked in the feeling of relaxation. His brother had a much more calming presence now, now that he wasn’t a psycho trying to live the best duels.

He turned to his brother, raising an eyebrow. The older Marufuji had propped himself up with pillows, although his legs were twitching under his blanket. He was itching to get out and (most likely) duel someone. Sho wasn’t going to let him, though. He was better than that. 

“You…”

Ryo reached out for him, frowning when Sho nearly flinched under his hand. But he didn’t move as fingers brushed over old scars over his neck.

“...They haven’t faded,” he remarked, leaning back and contemplating something. Sho didn’t say anything either, he just brought a hand up to his neck and felt the marks carefully. 

He actually hadn’t noticed. His shirts usually covered it up, and he had thought they’d fade away over time. Apparently not. He stamped down the slight amusement that came with the realization.

Ryo sighed, straightening up the best he could. “Sho,” he started firmly, unresponsive as his younger brother snapped to attention. “I suppose an apology is in order.”

Sho furrowed his brows, processing the sentence.

“I’m sorry for dueling you with the shock collars and almost killing you,” Ryo said bluntly, placing his hand over Sho’s on the bed. “I’m… not quite sure where I went wrong there, but I’m… sorry.”

Sho didn’t even realize he was crying before he sniffed loudly. Ryo smiled gently, tightening his grip.

“O-Onii-san,” he mumbled, wiping away his tears. He was strong, dammit. “I…”

“You have the right to be mad at me.”

“No, it’s not that…”

Ryo raised an eyebrow, tilting his head subtly. “What?” 

Sho opened his mouth, wanting to get mad, wanting to get frustrated, but his angry words died away on his lips as he finally realized what Ryo said. Instead--

“...’I suppose an apology is in order.’ Really? What are you, Grandpa?”

For a moment, they were silent as Sho wiped away a stray tear. “You’re not _old._ You’re like twenty.”

And then the unthinkable happened.

Ryo burst into laughter, shaking violently as he hunched over, raising a hand to his face. It was startling, although very much welcome, and Sho began giggling as well. 

As they both caught their breaths, Ryo gave a rare smile to Sho, shaking his head. “Did it really remind you of him that much?”

“Did you _forget_ how he talked?”

“Fair enough, but _surely_ I didn’t take it that far.”

“You didn’t, but it was pretty close.”

Sho couldn’t help but smile as their conversation descended into small talk and laughter. It felt nice, reconnecting with his older brother. 

He hoped they could do this again soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn, sorry for the late update! I've been getting a little busier so I might not update as often, but I'll do my best :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaah i'm so sorry for the really late update hslkdjfl  
> things are starting to get hectic, so rip a normal update schedule I guess

**Cereal**

\---

Manjome, for the lack of a better word, was _appalled._

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked as he stepped into the Osiris Red’s dining hall.

“Oh, morning Manjome!” Judai called from one of the tables, turning around and waving cheerfully with that stupid, intoxicating smile of his. “Hurry up, we’re going to be late for class!”

“As if you’re _not_ going to skip.”

Judai pouted, but didn’t refute the other. “Either way, I’m going to eat your cereal too if you just stand there.”

“Yeah, speaking of which, _what the hell are you doing?”_

The Osiris Red raised an eyebrow, holding up a carton of milk. “What do you think?”

Manjome gritted his teeth, stomping over to the boy and snatching the milk away. “You’re supposed to pour the cereal in first!”

“I always put the milk in first; now could you give that back?”

“Again, you have to put the cereal in first, dammit! Why do you put the milk in first?” Manjome snapped, holding it away from Judai’s reaching fingers. The brunette groaned, giving up on getting the carton back.

“Dude, I want to eat cereal! Why does it even matter--”

“Because it’s wrong,” Manjome stressed, slipping into the seat across from Judai and grabbing the cereal box.

It occurred to him that while pouring the milk in first was unnatural, Judai wasn’t exactly one for rules either. He chose to ignore that thought, instead yanking an empty bowl over and slamming it down in front of him.

“Do you really not know the cereal etiquette?”

Judai snorted, grabbing the cereal box away from Manjome and pouring the food into his bowl. “I didn’t even know there was something like that,” he snarked, finishing and throwing the (still open) box at Manjome. An undignified yelp escaped his mouth as the cereal spilled over him.

“You son of a--”

“Now gimme the milk!” Judai yelled, suddenly reaching over the table and grabbing at the carton.

“Get your own!”

“That _was_ my own!”

“Well, now it’s mine!”

The two pulled at the carton, neither of them wanting to give in. Manjome knew he should probably let go, but his pride was another matter.

Sparks flew between their eyes as they engaged in a fierce staring contest, but Judai eventually sighed and looked down for a split second. Manjome grinned in triumph, about to yank away the carton--

He froze as Judai leaned over and pecked him on the forehead. 

“Thank you,” Judai said cheerfully as he pulled the carton away, dumping the milk into his bowl and grasping his spoon. “Hurry up, Manjome, there should be milk in the kitchen if you want it so bad.”

Manjome was still kind of in a frozen state, his mind trying (and failing) to process _what the fuck just happened._ Eventually, on autopilot, he got up and went to the kitchen at the back, looking for milk while still trying to snap out of the haze.

When he came back, Judai was already gone. There was a piece of paper with a note scrawled on it, which Manjome couldn’t really read, but he basically knew what it said.

“...Whether you love me or not has nothing to do with this,” he grumbled to himself, crumpling up the paper and tossing it into the trash can.

* * *

**Disguise**

\---

When Rei joined the Obelisk Blue dorm, she really didn’t know what to expect.

Okay, that was a lie-- she expected them to be a little stronger, but that was probably because she’d spent longer around Asuka than any of the other girls in this school. From what the older girl told her, she expected the Obelisk Blue Girls’ dorm to be… well, tame.

Apparently there was more talk about boys than dueling, which wasn’t very surprising. She’d befriended Junko and Momoe pretty quickly, but that was about her entire experience with the Obelisk Blue girls.

Asuka had reassured her there was more to the girls’ dorm than boys and dueling, but somehow, Rei doubted it. It wasn’t like she had anything else to go off of, but she didn’t completely trust Asuka’s words. 

So it came as a complete surprise when the two accidentally discovered a club dedicated to… girls dressing as boys?

Well, she had plenty of experience in that department.

“Hello,” she said, breaking the awkward silence. “And what are you all doing here.”

Both Rei and Asuka had been out a little late to duel for fun with Kenzan and Judai, the latter which had declined to duel but watched in amusement, so they were fully expecting to take a quick shower, talk a little more, and crash at their rooms in preparation for the next day.

Instead, upon walking up to Rei’s room, they’d heard a lot of talking. When Rei opened the door, there were a _lot_ of boys crowded around the bed. Well, they _thought_ they were boys at first. 

That was until the two Obelisk girls saw some pulling off wigs. And then, after a lot of begging and failed negotiations, Asuka and Rei had agreed to stay in the room and discuss their discovery quietly.

Everyone else in the room except Asuka flinched, as if she were threatening them instead of asking a simple question. (It was more of a statement, but no one cared.) 

“W-well,” one of the boys - girls? - started, taking a quick look around the room. Everyone nodded at him - her - _them,_ and began explaining. 

“It’s like… a club,” they started, rubbing the back of their head. “We don’t like the girls’ uniforms, so some of us decided to disguise ourselves as boys so we could, you know, wear boys’ uniforms.”

“Couldn’t you have just asked the Chancellor?” Asuka asked dubiously. “And why are you in the girls’ dorm then?”

“And wouldn’t the teachers notice that the girls aren’t _there?”_ Rei followed up, scratching the back of her head.

“We’re not boys,” one of the club members said, sitting on the edge of the bed and shaking their hair out. “We’re just dressing up as them. And we’re not really sure if Chancellor would, and I don’t think the teachers particularly care if we’re boys or girls--”

Rei interrupted their explanation with a sigh, tossing her duel disk onto a chair and sitting down on the armrest. “All of that aside, why are you guys in my room?” 

“...We needed a meeting room and this one was the first one we saw,” another girl said, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rei said, waving it off. “I’m just asking.”

“Anyways--”

“We’re not going to tell the Chancellor, if that’s what you’re asking,” Asuka cut in smoothly. There was a huff of relief from everyone else in the room. 

Rei just smiled, crossing her arms. “If I knew there was a club like that the first time I came, I probably wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of entering Osiris Red,” she remarked with a short laugh. 

Asuka chuckled, shaking her head. “But that’s a story for another time.”

The club stared at Rei, who winked at them cheerfully. “I’ll come by again and tell you another time. For now, you should all go to bed, it’s getting late.”

“...That sounds fun,” a girl said, taking her jacket off and extending a hand. “How about tomorrow, after classes?”

Rei accepted it, shaking her hand. “Sounds good!”

* * *

**Rematch**

\---

_Freeze._

The world took a pause, holding its breath as attack seemed to happen in slow motion. 

Edo sucked in a sharp breath as Manjome’s life points hit _0._

It was completely silent as the two duelists stared at their duel disks, reflecting Manjome’s life points. Zero. 

“I… won,” Edo said, his eyes widening just a touch. He raised his eyes to the black haired duelist, who stared back with just as wide eyes.

“...Damn, good game,” Manjome said, the holograms fading. Both devices deactivated, and Manjome walked across the duel field, hand extended. “Congratulations.”

“Didn’t expect you to take the loss so gracefully,” Edo managed with a small smirk, swallowing back the urge to cheer. 

“Don’t get used to it,” Manjome grumbled, scowling, although his voice lacked actual bite. “It was only a rematch. We’re one to one now.”

Edo just grinned, raising his own hand. The crowd finally erupted into cheers as the two shook hands.

“Next time decides who’s best. ”

“You’re on.”

* * *

**Letters**

\---

“...And that’s about it,” Fubuki finished, grinning as the Marufuji brothers stared at him. “What do you think?”

Sho mulled over his words, trying to get a coherent explanation together. “So… you’re telling me…” he started, rubbing his temples, “you stole the letters I wrote to my brother and wrote back pretending to be him.”

“Yep! I wanted you two to be closer, so I thought it was a good idea,” Fubuki explained cheerfully, crossing his arms. “It kind of worked, didn’t it?”

“No,” Sho deadpanned, pushing his glasses up. “I _knew_ those letters weren’t from Onii-san. They were _way_ too kind and sappy.”

“Fubuki, did you even try and disguise yourself to write like me?” Ryo asked, his eyes narrowing. “And when did I give you permission to write back as me?”

“Of course I did,” Fubuki answered with a huff and a pout. “It’s really hard to write in the way you would do it!”

“He’d probably answer in a few sentences and _not_ badger me like a mother hen,” Sho retorted, adjusting his glasses, annoyed. “I still remember some of the stuff you apparently wrote and never once believed it was him.”

“Did you _want_ to believe it was him?”

“There’s a difference between wanting to believe and actually believing,” the brothers deadpanned. Fubuki sighed, smoothing his hair back.

“Fair,” he decided, shaking his head. “But did it _work_ when Sho got to Duel Academia?”

 _“No?!”_ both of them yelled. Ryo pressed a hand to his forehead while Sho rubbed his temples.

Taking a deep breath, the older Marufuji pinned his friend with a dark glare. “You stole my mail and made me think something happened to Sho for a _year_ because you wanted to get us to be closer,” he deadpanned. “I thought something was wrong when the letters stopped arriving.”

“And I thought bullies were taking my letters and writing back as a joke,” Sho gritted out.

Fubuki raised his hands in surrender as the two brothers glared at him together. “Please don’t kill me,” he said, a hint of fear evident somewhere in his voice.

“Wishful thinking,” Ryo scoffed, his arms twitching. “You’re _so_ lucky I’m confined to a hospital bed right now, I’m going to _kill_ you when I get out of here--”

“I’m perfectly mobile,” Sho reminded, grabbing for Fubuki’s arm, but the older boy backed away quickly. “Get back here!”

Ryo narrowed his eyes. “Sho, help me onto the wheelchair.”

Fubuki paled, trying to scramble away from the brothers. “Wait, no--”

“You have three seconds,” Ryo promised as Sho went to go get a wheelchair. “Explain why what you did was wrong.”

To both brothers’ amusement, Fubuki dropped down on his knees and began explaining extremely rapidly why stealing mail was wrong. Sho just chuckled, shaking his head, although he was still tempted to devise a way to kill Fubuki with his brother.

It made good bonding time!

Not to mention Fubuki had it coming.

* * *

**Protect**

\---

“Instructor Chronos, what are you doing?” Ryo asked awkwardly. His dorm head yelped and nearly ran away, before tripping over a stray broomstick that had fallen from the closet.

“N-n-n-othing,” the teacher stammered from the ground, getting up quickly and bowing. “It’s nothing, I promise you, Signor Ryo!”

Ryo watched in amusement, if not concern, as Chronos looked around hurriedly.

“...Are you looking for something?”

“No, nothing of the sorts!” the teacher shrieked, shaking his head frantically. “I was just… making sure no one else was in the hall, yes!”

“So why were you hiding inside the janitor’s closet?” the Kaiser asked, raising an eyebrow. “...Instructor, are you scared?”

“Of course not!” 

Ryo wasn’t exactly convinced-- there was an underlying tremble to the teacher’s voice along with little flashes of worry in his eyes. He held back a sigh.

“With being a Spirit Key holder and all, I’m sure you’re stressed,” Ryo said carefully, noting how Chronos seemed to stiffen. “If you’d like me to walk you to your quarters--”

“No, that’s unnecessary,” Chronos responded, his haughty tone back, although much more subdued. “Thank you for the offer, but I must be going. Have a good night, Signor Ryo.”

“You know we’ll protect you too if we have to,” Ryo quipped almost teasingly. “Good ni--”

Chronos interrupted him with a scoff. “I’m sure you should know it’s a teacher’s duty to keep all students from harm as long as they can,” he said harshly, although kind. “I will not have my students trying to protect me if I can help it.”

There was a beat of silence, and at that moment, the teacher brushed past Ryo, most likely to his own room. The Kaiser stood for a second longer, a small smile growing on his face.

Perhaps his views were to be changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :P 
> 
> (I'm sorry if these aren't as long or good as usual hsdlfkjkla procrastination is a bitch)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHH YALL I AINT DEAD, THIS FIC AINT DEAD I PROMISE
> 
> Accidentally reloaded without saving so I lost all my progress rip
> 
> School's started, how's everyone doing? I know I'm already dying :D
> 
> So here goes again! I'm really sorry for the late update, and this is a more one-shot central thing because I really liked the idea so hslkdfj

**Drama**

**\---**

"I have to WHAT?!" Manjome shrieked, attempting to process Instructor Chronos's words again.

The teacher tutted, his arms crossed haughtily. "To make up for the days lost, Signor Manjome," he repeated, leaning in towards the former Obelisk, "you must participate in a play the drama club is setting up."

"What?! That's not fair, can't I just make up the assignments and stuff?!" Manjome protested angrily, taking a step back. "I don't want to be part of a stupid play!"

"You'd make a good lead, Manjome," Judai piped up from behind him, an irritating grin on his face. "I'm serious, you're perfect for theater!"

"That's Manjome- _san_ to you," Manjome snapped back, whirling around and glaring at the Osiris Red boy. "And how would you know that?!"

"Manjome Thunder," Judai corrected, his smile never leaving his face. "And what, you don't think you can get the lead role? It's fine to admit defeat, y'know."

Sho stifled a snicker, following up, "Doesn't Manjome Thunder accept any challenge?"

Manjome held back the urge to punch that smirk off of the midget's face.

"You really think-"

"Aw come on, Manjome," Judai said, poking him lightly, his expression mostly neutral, although Manjome knew better than to trust that 'innocent' face. "You really don't think you can get the lead role—"

He was walking into a trap. The former Obelisk knew it very well. But at the same time... Judai was challenging _him?_

This would _not_ stand.

"If I get the lead role in the play, you owe me the next month's fried shrimp," Manjome hissed, leaning close to Judai with a death glare. "If I'm going to be stuck with you idiots, I might as well try and get something out of it."

"Ehhh? My friend shrimp..."

" _My_ fried shrimp!"

Judai just grinned knowingly, spinning on his heel and walking away past the crowd. "I expect to see you as the lead, Thunder!" he called over his shoulder.

"I know, and don't you forget it!" Manjome declared in response.

Auditions came a lot faster than he expected, but he could deal. He was a flexible guy.

That's what he thought anyway.

"You got this, Manjome," Judai cheered while passing by him. He scowled and threw open the door to the theater club, papers clutched tightly.

And he got the role.

It was a blur, really. It was much more fun than he thought it was going to be, especially since the character resembled his personality a little, but he wasn't really sure what he was doing.

_Take that!_ He congratulated himself for a second before remembering that he was _THE_ Manjome Thunder. It was only natural. Although the self-praise didn't hurt.

"Nice job, Manjome! I guess I owe you my fried shrimp, huh?"

"Aniki, you agreed to it."

"I know, I know..."

Manjome sneered at Judai, turning away and placing a spoonful of soup in his mouth. "You sure do," he said after swallowing. "I better get all of it!"

"Not even one?"

"Hell no!"

Judai pouted but fell silent, eating his dinner quietly, for once. _Maybe I should try that more often if he shuts up like this._

Memorizing the script was easy enough. It was actually... fun, going through the lines without pausing and yelling dramatically when no one was expecting it.

Rehearsals were also chaotic, with someone messing up at least once every time— not like they were faulted. Just laughed at before they retried.

Then came the night— students had gathered in the seats in the auditorium beyond the drawn curtains. It was time.

Manjome couldn't quite cover up his giddiness, to most of the cast's amusements. He still brushed off their compliments, but he couldn't quite bring himself to the snappy comebacks he was accustomed to.

He liked it, just a little.

While preparing, he snuck a peak outside of the curtains and nearly hissed in surprise.

Why, of all people, were Judai and his friends in the front?

The Osiris Red looked up and matched his gaze for a split second, as if seeing him behind the stage, straight through him. With a grin and a nod, Judai turned his head away to listen to Sho instead.

_Wha_ — _?_

"Manjome, you look like you've seen a ghost," one of the cast members laughed as she put on a hat.

"Maybe I might've," he countered, raising an eyebrow. He received a chuckle in response, and that was that.

The play itself went well enough. A few mistakes here and there, followed by a little improv, but Manjome could manage easily. (Improv was something he excelled at, after all.)

He couldn't help but meet eyes with Judai every time he started monologuing towards the audience. Every time, whether it was for a short second or a minute, Judai would always stare back with these _knowing_ _eyes._ Seriously creepy shit.

Other than that, he couldn't deny that he was having fun. The thrill of being up on stage and being dramatic for everyone in the seats to hear felt exhilarating, and he loved every moment with everyone's eyes on _him._

"Bravo!"

"Amazing!"

Manjome took a bow with all of the actors, hand in hand. He was smiling more than he had before this entire incide— _play,_ and it felt... nice, for a change.

He looked around the audience, filled with applause and whistles, cheers and yelling. Loud and chaotic, all rooting for him and the members of the club. His smile only grew wider, and he glanced down at Judai, who...

...was standing and screaming something over the clapping.

_"NICE, MANJOME THUNDER!"_

Which was followed by clapping of his own.

Really, he wanted to scowl, for whatever reason. But Judai was grinning from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling, clapping hard, and pumping his fist in the air. Like he was the only one watching.

Manjome's grin turned into a cross between that and a smirk. He supposed Judai was to be thankful for.

He was always the first one clapping.

* * *

**Birthday!**

**\---**

Judai wasn't really expecting much for his birthday, to be perfectly honest.

He was basking in the last few days of summer vacation before school started up again, not really expecting anything to happen.

Of course, he should've seen this coming.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"What the hell—"

He stared at the Red Dorm's cafeteria, which had been decorated into something more colorful. Crimson streamers colored the walls, along with pastel balloons and golden origami stars that were falling off the ceiling.

The tables and benches had all been moved aside, except for one in the middle. Sho, Misawa, Asuka, Fubuki, and (a grudgingly happy) Manjome were illuminated cake, lit with a one tall candle and six shorter ones all around.

"Aniki, come on! The candles aren't going to blow themselves out!" Sho prompted, waving Judai over. Still shell shocked, Judai made his way over, sitting down in front of the cake. Manjome jammed a red hat on his head forcefully.

"Happy sixteenth, dumbass," he said, poking the party hat once. Judai blinked a couple times, dazedly adjusting the new addition before shifting his attention to the cake.

On the top was a little Winged Kuriboh drawn with icing, along with a small message: _Happy sixteenth birthday, Judai!_

That was when everyone burst into the loud melody of _"Happy Birthday to You!",_ startling him. (In a good way.)

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" the entire Red Dorm yelled, voices mixed with laughs.

"...You guys," Judai said softly, an uncharacteristic shy smile adorning his face. "Thank you guys, what the heck?"

"Aniki, we should be thanking you!" Sho protested, crossing his arms and leaning back. "You're my big bro, after all! What more is there to thank for? Oh, and my brother sends his wishes!"

"He actually remembered?" Judai asked, his jaw dropping. "That's surprising."

"He has a good memory," Asuka laughed, shoving Judai's shoulder lightly. "Now come on, make a wish!"

There was a moment of silence as Judai thought about his wish. He took a deep breath and blew out the candles, leaving nothing but darkness and a wisps of smoke.

As the grey rose into the air, someone flicked the lights back on, revealing grins and happy faces. Hell, even Manjome was smiling!

"Congratulations on turning sixteen!" Fubuki cheered, pulling out the candles and laying them on a napkin at the side. "Now, cut the cake!"

Judai's own face split into a grin as Fubuki and Sho handed him a plastic knife. He blinked back tears as he laid his hands on the handle and started cutting the cake.

"You guys..."

"Well, it's the least we could do, right?" Manjome grumbled, turning away. (Was that a shade of pink on his face?)

(Nah, he must've imagined it. Manjome Thunder didn't blush.)

"First slice is for the birthday boy!" Fubuki announced cheerfully, sliding a huge slice on a plate in front of Judai. The older boy chuckled as the Osiris student's face lit up like a firework. "Help us with the rest of it!"

"Okay, okay!" Judai laughed, unable to hold the tears back. One slid down his face, but he paid no mind, slicing up the cake until everyone had a portion.

"One more time— happy birthday, Judai!"

He yelped as everyone around the table dragged him into a large hug. Manjome yelled something muffled by Fubuki's arm, lost in the chaos as the Red dorm joined in the suffocating glomp.

And Judai was laughing among the loud happiness throughout the dorm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so the birthday one was an extremely late birthday tribute for Judai! oh and a selfish thing for me since today's actually my birthday :3
> 
> I know it's short and I didn't get to any requests except one, and I'm sorry! I'll try and make up for it in the next chapter or two xd
> 
> just finished YTTD chapter 3 part 1 and maybe I should write a short AU for it,, :D
> 
> thanks for reading! ^v^


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM ALIIIIIIIVE
> 
> aka, it's been a whole hell of a while skhdgklj
> 
> A lot of things have been going on, and I don't have a set update schedule either, so mix that together and we get really long gaps between updates sdkhglkj plus I'm really invested in yttd so hahaaaa
> 
> Anyways, that's enough about me, I'm finally here with another chapter that took WAY too long kshdlkgj

**Sickness**

\---

"Jeez, Sho, what did you do to get this sick?" Judai asked, inspecting the thermometer. Sho mumbled something unintelligible, snuggling further into his blankets.

"Not really sure," Ryo said, shaking his head. "He doesn't get sick that often, so this is new."

Judai smirked fondly, placing a hand on Sho's head and ruffling his hair. "Can confirm, he never really got sick."

Ryo huffed in amusement. "Anyways, Judai, I think it's best if you headed off for now. I can take care of him, and you still have a few things to do here, don't you?"

"Kaiser, I'm not leaving until Sho is better," the former Osiris Red deadpanned, giving Ryo a small smile. "I know what you think of me, but he's literally my boyfriend."

"Which I still don't quite approve of," Ryo muttered, eliciting a weak laugh from Sho. "Either way, I don't need you getting sick and Sho worrying to death over you, so if you could...?"

Smiling, Judai's eyes narrowed at Ryo, flickering once, twice, before fading to brown. "My answer is clear, as always," he said calmly, shifting himself to a more upright position. "I'm not leaving."

"Stubborn, aren't we," Ryo sighed, shaking his head. "Judai, I can take care of him. I'm his older brother."

"You certainly didn't act like it," Judai quipped, lips quirking up with Ryo chuckled at the mention. "And again, I'm his boyfriend, I'm going to take care of him whether you let me or not."

"Overprotective."

"I could say the same about you."

Judai and Ryo stared at each other, both eyes unforgiving, unwilling to let up. Sparks flew, and Ryo reached into his pocket, Judai reached into his own, and-

"Get out of my room, both of you!" Sho yelled, his voice raspy from his cold. He struggled to sit up, to Judai's amusement, before grabbing his pillow. "Out, out!"

He batted Judai away, who laughed and got up, backing away from he vengeful pillow. Then, with surprising accuracy, Sho chucked the pillow at his brother, which smacked his shoulder softly with a _paff._

"Get out!" Sho yelled again, fumbling for his glasses. "Judai, you better not get sick, and Ryo, if you even _consider_ getting sick, I swear I'll-"

Laughing, Judai grabbed the pillow and tossed it back at Sho, dragging Ryo out of the room as it connected with the sick man's face. The door shut as Sho shouted something lined with curse words.

"...Well, that went well."

"If only I could say that."

"Lighten up, Kaiser!"

* * *

**Theory**

\---

"Asuka?"

Asuka glances over, meeting Judai's eyes. "What's wrong?" he asks, tilting his head. "You look kinda down."

"Oh, do I? Sorry," she apologizes, giving a short laugh. "It's not that I'm down, or anything. It's just... kind of weird."

"What is?" Johan interjects, plopping down next to the two. Asuka startles and laughs, shaking her head.

"Should've known you'd be around if Judai was here," she says, glancing between the two. "It's just... I haven't seen my brother at all."

"Oh yeah, weird," Judai says, scratching the back of his head. "Fubuki _was_ at school, right?"

Asuka nods, drumming her fingers on the floor. "All of the students got thrown into this world with us, so where did he go...?"

Johan smiles. "Maybe he's off with his girls or something."

Judai laughs at the possibility. "Sounds like Fubuki," he agrees, looking over at Asuka. "You know him the best, though. What do you think?"

"Fubuki would've told me if he was going somewhere," she says, exhaling. "And there aren't any girls here either, so... you know what, I do think he went somewhere else with 'his girls.'"

(She can almost hear his laughter and his ukulele.)

Johan bursts out laughing, followed by Judai, and suddenly she's laughing too. It's nice, smiling and talking like normal in such a tense situation.

Perhaps they could go back to normal soon.

* * *

**Infatuation**

\---

"Stay away from him!"

Asuka honestly had no idea what was going on.

Being challenged to a duel? She could handle that. Being insulted? That too.

Being accused of dating Kaiser Ryo was a new one.

She wanted to laugh, really. Out of everyone, _her?_ Dating Ryo?

She sighed instead, drawing a card. "First of all," she began, examining Polymerization, "I'm not dating him."

Ran blanched, before straightening up with a furious expression. "Who else would he be?!" she yelled back, placing a hand over her locket. "He's mine, so don't even try!"

Asuka's eye twitched. "He's not dating anyone. We're just friends!"

"Then how come you two spend so much time together?"

"Because he's my friend!" she replied firmly, slapping Polymerization down on her duel disk. She took a deep breath, calming herself down. "I suggest you try and talk to him first before making random accusations!"

She smiled coldly as Blade Skater appeared on the field.

"He'd appreciate it, I'm sure."

* * *

**Realize**

\---

"I am _so tired._ "

Sho flops over onto the grass, facing the night sky. White dots twinkle at him cheerfully, smiling down at him through the quiet.

Ryo sits down next to him, upright. When the younger Marufuji glances over, Ryo's looking up at the stars too.

"How does Asuka keep up with Fubuki?" Sho puffs out, stretching his limbs out. "He's so _chaotic..._ "

"They're siblings. And it's surprising you can't keep up with them. Haven't you been hanging out with Fubuki for three years?" Ryo asks in amusement.

"Two," Sho corrects, "the first year doesn't really count."

"Fair enough."

The two sit in comfortable silence. It's nice, taking a break from the Tenjoin siblings and just being in silence.

Sho had almost forgotten this feeling.

"...I'm glad we decided to come."

With a smile, Sho nods, staring at the sky. "Me too," he says simply, before shutting his eyes.

Words get stuck in his throat, but he doesn't say anything else.

Ryo doesn't either.

* * *

**Reunion**

\---

"Yo, Manjome! It's been a while!"

Manjome spins around, meeting the eyes of a very familiar Johan Andersen.

He scowls, adjusting his jacket and glaring at him. "Andersen," he says, crossing his arms. "So you're one of the transfer students."

"Is that the way to greet your friend?" Johan asks, pouting. It's eerily similar to Judai's pout. "And I thought I asked you to call me 'Johan.'"

"And I thought I told you you're not worth calling by your first name," Manjome snaps, crossing his arms. "Who said we were friends?!"

Johan chuckles, placing a hand on his hip. Ruby Carbuncle circles around his shoulder, mewing softly.

"I thought it was a given, seeing how often we hung out at North," he says, scratching the back of his head. He grins brightly. "Long time no see, huh?"

"It's been two- three years, we're not _friends,_ " Manjome sighs, although he holds a hand out for the other to shake.

"What are we, rivals?" Johan asks, amusement in his tone as he takes the outstretched hand.

"No, Judai's my rival. You're just..."

"A friend?"

Manjome glares at Johan, yanking his hand back. "As if," he snorts unconvincingly. "Why would I care about you?"

Johan shakes his head, shooing Ruby off, who skitters up Manjome's shoulder. He yelps and tries to shake it off, although it doesn't work.

"Weren't you the one who said we were friends?"

"What?! No, that was you! You're the dork, not me!"

The teal haired duelist just grins as Ruby jumps over to his shoulder again. "Uh huh, sure," he says with a laugh. "Love ya, Manjome."

"I hate you!"

* * *

**Enough**

\---

Ryo's not quite sure how he got here.

Well, that's not true. He knows _how_ he got here. Taking walks at night calms him, and he likes the lighthouse by the beach.

He doesn't know why _Sho,_ of all people, is here.

If anything, he was expecting Asuka to be by here, but _Sho?_

It wasn't unwelcome or anything, he's just a little surprised.

He's silent, though. There's no point in alerting Sho that he's here.

His footsteps are quiet as he stands next to the lighthouse. Around it, Sho's quiet voice whispers words his brother can't hear.

He catches a couple words, like 'enough' and 'no,' but that's it. Ryo furrows his brows at them, mulling over his thoughts.

They spiral into possible sentences, and the older Marufuji brother exhales sharply.

"...Onii-san?!"

There's sounds of Sho scrambling up, and footsteps. Ryo glances over to see Sho with red eyes and barely visible tear tracks on his cheeks.

"What are you...?"

Time seems to freeze for a second. Ryo stares at the disheveled Sho, swallowing words like 'I'm sorry,' or even an 'I love you.'

In this moment, Sho Marufuji isn't strong. He never was.

So maybe...

He reaches out and pats Sho's head, a slight smile on his face.

"Good job," he says quietly, hoping that's all Sho needs.

* * *

**Befriend**

\---

Judai fidgets nervously, under the young Marufuji's gaze.

Or is it over? He doesn't question it, just looking anywhere but the prince's face.

"...I-I'm Judai Yuki. Sir!" He internally swears at the stutter and tacks on the 'sir' at the end. "Your highness! I-I'm sorry, I have no idea what to call you."

He's making a complete fool of himself, but what can he do? It's not like he asked for this.

The young prince picks at his robe and nods, glancing away. "...I'm Sho," he says, casting his eyes down at the ground. "You knew that already, right?"

Judai nods hurriedly, rolling his shoulders back and scratching the back of his head. "Yeah- I mean, yes I did."

"It's alright! You don't need to be so formal," Sho says quickly, looking up and shaking his head. He adjusts his glasses and they stand in silence for a moment.

Taking some deep breaths, Judai outstretches a hand.

"It's an honor to be your knight," he says quickly, his arm shaking. He gives a shaky smile, praying he didn't mess up.

Sho stares at the hand like it's an alien, and for a moment, Judai nearly shrinks back.

_I'm screwed, I'm screwed, I'm screwed-_

There's a quiet sniff, and Judai blinks.

"Thank you," Sho says, wiping his eyes. He accepts Judai's hand and shakes it lightly, smiling brightly.

A beat of silence passes, and Judai lets a bigger grin spread on his face.

"Nice to meet you, Sh- your highness-?"

"Just Sho is fine," Sho says, pushing his glasses up with a nod.

Judai nods, his excitement sparking for the first time in this meeting.

"Well then! Nice to meetcha, Sho!"

* * *

**Observe**

\---

Watching Edo duel was exhilarating, to say the least.

There was just something about the way he carried himself, the way he set up his combos- it was just satisfying to watch him obliterate his opponents.

Asuka, for one, loved dueling against him. It was just as interesting as dueling Judai, even if it was the complete opposite of how he dueled.

While Judai dueled with emotion and instinct, Edo dueled with cold hard logic.

Dueling was one thing, but watching was fun too.

It was almost funny, how fast Edo could tear down his opponents, taunting them through the duel. In the Pro Leagues, the audience ate it up, laughing and cheering at every quip, every insult.

It wasn't like Asuka was different. She loved watching the verbal fights, the absolute _smack downs Edo_ delivered.

She sits on her couch, examining every detail she can catch through the TV. Of him, of the opponent's face as they're destroyed.

(She's not cruel. It's just... fun.)

As the opponent's life points hit zero, Edo raises his hand, and the deafening cheers from the audience plays.

Asuka lets a smile curl up on her face, raising her own hand.

"Congrats," she says, like she always does.

He doesn't need to hear her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAA FINALLY- I DIDNT GET THROUGH ALL OF THE REQUESTS BUT CLOSE ENOUGH?
> 
> ILL GET TO THE ONES I DIDNT NEXT TIME LOL
> 
> All of these were a lot shorter than normal, so I'm sorry xD I'll definitely try to make these longer next time!
> 
> til next time, whenever that is!

**Author's Note:**

> as said in the summary, requests are open! AUs, word prompts, pairings, they're all fair game! (except for smut, but yea)
> 
> (oh and don't expect too much if you do lol)


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